SECRET

United States Depariment of State

Bureau of Public Affairs
DDE/DSS CENTRAL FILE ROOM
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DOCUMENT No. 08S8804797

Historical Research Project No. 14;21
NUCL&'\H ACCIDENTS AT SPAIN IN 1966 i\ND THULE
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GPEENLttND IN 19?8
RELEASED IN PART
Bl, l-:4tA), 1.4(B), l-:-4(D), t:4(F), B3, ATOMIC
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF STATE
REVIEW AUTHORITY: FRANKH PEREZ
CLASSIFICATION: SECRET REASON: 25X2, 25X4, 25X6
DECLASSIFY AFTER: 11 APR 2035
DATE/CASE ill: 04 SEP 2008 200504115
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UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF STATE .VlITHAITACH(S)fEi'iCL(S) fj-F' . "
REVIEW AUTHORITY: APPEALS REVIEW PANEL . FORMERLY .:11. 't{".o6 .
APPEAL ACTION: ADDITIONAL INFORMATION D!t".:'. ,;;; '.:i andCrirnin<.l
REASON(S): Bl, 1.4(A), 1.4(D), B3, ATOMIC - .. '-':1'. " t:'
DATE/CASEill: 04 NOV 2010 200504115 . Section 1 J ,:.tc:mic E,;::;i:.'Y 1854.
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NUCLEAR ACCIDENTS AT PALOMARES, SPAIN IN 1966 AND THULE,
GREENLAND IN 1968
FOREt'lARD
(U)This brief account of the diplomatic history of the
Palomares, spain and Thule, Greenland nuclear weapon accidents
va s comrai s s t oned for the purpose of pr ovi di n'q s ome insight into
the demands which could be made on united States' ambassadors
and "their staffs should such an accident happen again.
have been fortunate that have not had a major
overseas accident of the scale of Palomares or Thule since
19G8. One of the unfortunate by-products of this excellent
nUclear safety recoJ:d has 0een the atrophying of expertise und
consciousness of tbe lessons learned from those accidents.
(U)In a of important respects today's environment
overseas is different from that of the lute 1960's. A
but opbosition to Nuclear Porce
deployments--qulescent now--is lurking just below the Gurface
lacking a cause celebre. A potentially Widening "nuclear
allergy" exists, brought about throug& emerging, left of
center-nuclear-free minded second generation leaderships in the
post-Uorld-h'ar II international system. These adverse "trends"
ar e fueled by a cancer ted effor t by the Sovie t Union to
undermine allied support for U.S. nuclear deployments.
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united states' ambassador and his staff will playa
key role in effective management of the u.s. Government
response to an accident. As noted herein, embassies are
generally ill-equipped to deal with such exigencies. The

local conditions ana install J.S art of his emer enc: action
ylan.
(U)Dr. .Jar.-.es E. 11iller of the Office of the Bi:3tociilil;
Depi'Htrnent of state, lias dorie an outstanding job of surfacing
the diplomatic problems of Pa Loma r es and Thule in a paper which
is interesting reading. I hope this contribution to .our .;
understanding of the kinds'of demands whIch could be made on
our eJi1bassies is useful but continues to be unusea.
Michael Barrett Seaton
Bureau of Political-Military Affairs
April 1985
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assu@ed by the included managing a public
effort designed to influence the citizens of the host state,
a s s i s t i nq- in efforts to clean up the contaminated crash sites,
and settling the damage clai@s filed by the nationals of the
host nation. All of these functions were carried out in
cooperation with the Department of Defense. A clear division
of responsibility emerged: the military concentrated on
clean-up and c.luims settlement while the Embassy or Department
of stateassu@ed primary responsibility for. retaining U.S.
nuclear weapons rights. In Spain public relations matters
the major cause of conflict between t&e Embassy and
military, 'while geographic separation gave the Department of
Defense primary control of pUblic relations in Greenland. The
role of the American Ambassau9r and the depth of Embassy
during these crises varied,in accordance with the
circumstances of the accidents, the form of government ot the
host nation, and the character of tbe U.$. chief of mission.
(..g.) 'l'he January 17, 1966 and January 21, 1968 crashes of
nuclear-weapons-eguippeq SAC B-52 bombers on the territory of
two U.S. allies thrust the Embassies in spain and Denmark into
cOQplex and ultimately unsuccessful negotiations
(U}Certain clear lessons emerge from the two accidents.
within the limits imposed by atomic weapons information
.security, the united States should seek to prOVide the press
with with all available information as quickly as possible.
Expert technical assistance should be prOVided both at the
crash site and at the Embassy as soon as possible after an
accident. The United States should be ready to provide quick
service for claims arising from an accident. The U.S.
Ambassador must be in a position to assert his responsibility
for all political activities in the host nation.
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PALOMARES, SPAIN, JANUARY 1966
The Incident
(U)At approximately 10:22 a.m., January 17, 1966, aKC 135
refueling aircraft operating from Moron AFB collided with a
B-52 bomber of the Strategic Air Command in the skies over the
southern Spanish Village of Palomares. Seven U.S. airmen we r e
killed. The four unarmed nuclear devices whi ch the aircraft
was carrying apparently broke lose from their moorings during
the disintegration of the n-52. One bomb with other
wreckage into the sea off Pa Lorna r e s i the otber three 'bombs
landed around the village. The non-nuclear charges on two of
these devices exploded releasing of plutonium into
the air and onto the ground. Nreckage of the two aircraft was'
strewn over a wide area around the village, but; no
tovTnspeOplel;lere injured by t he falling, debris or by plutonium
con t ami nati ion ." ' ,
("&-)1'11e u.s. Air Force took full control of on-si te efforts
to recover the wreckage and nuclear armament and to
decontaminate the crash site. The Department of Defense also
took charge of the settlement of claims arising from the
accident. The U.S. Embassy in Spain ,initially had an
political tole: dealing with the impact of the
accident on U.s.-Spanish relations. Subsequently, it moved
into areas which initially had been under exclusive control of
the Department of Defense: the settlement of claims arising
from the accident, and the clean-up operations. The objective
of American di lomac was to retain S anish defense cooperation
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U.S. Embassy at Madrid was informed of the accident
at Palomares by phone by its military liaison group within an
hour of the crash. In turn it notified the Department of state
of the available details of the crash and initial Spanish
Government and public reaction. Ambassador Angier Biddle Duke
had been attending a meeting of a major business association
when an aide arrived to verbally inform him of the accident.
He immediately left the meeting and drove to the Spanish
Foreign Office to seek a with Foreign Minister
Ferdinanda Maria However, the Foreign Minister was
not in his office and Duke reported the available details of
the accident to the Under secretary for Political Affairs,
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Adolfo Cortina. In his meetings with Cortina and other senior
of the Spanish Foreign Office Duke attempted to
coordinate areSponse to the accident and expressed U.S.
apologies for the incident .. Despite the fact that many of the
details of the accident were known to both the Spanish and
foreign press, Spanish officials requested that the "nuclear
aspect" be nplayed down . . . in any pUblic releases" and that
Spain be, "disassociated from ani nuclear implications."
Ambassador Duke instructed ull U.S. agencies in Spain to follow
the press guidance set out in a 1964 "USAFE nuclear
a cci de nt I nrorraar i on plan" .and withheld authorization for any
public reference to the B-52's nuclear armament.
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An initial
piess.stater.1ent which did not mention the nuclear of
the accident \JBS cleared wi th the Government of Spain and
released at Torrejon AFB at 9:45 p.m. time on January 17.
Initial Public Relations
(U)l?rOTil start of the Palonares recovery operation, the
Embassy f ac ed tvo interconnected pubI i crelat ions proble.ms:1)
insuring accurate reporting in the Qedia and 2) winning the
agreeQent of spanish authorities to provide as complete
Ln f or ma t i on on the operation as s ecur i ty consider Q.t i.o ns
per@itted. Without access to more information, the tendellcy qf
the press t owar d rai s r epr es ent a t i on and sensationalism
increased. The Franco regime, however, in spite of a certain
nellowing of its authoritarian nature after a quarter century
in power, saw the press as an to be fended off rather
tban pl a ca t ed . . '
(-&)From the beginning, Department of State officials wanted
to deal publicly with the nuclear issue. Spanish
Government, however, strenuously objected to providing any
details to the press, an attitude initially shared by u.S.
military representatives on the scene at Palomares.
2
U.S.
officials recpgnized that holding on to the trust'and
cooperation of the Franco regime was critical to the successful
conclusi()n oft,he the bombs and
Thus, the Spa ni sh Government
he d a veto power over t e release of information. In order to'
Spanish confidence, the Embassy and recovery teams at
Palomares made conscious efforts-to assure that the Spanish
Government was kept fUlly informed of all apsects of the
recovery operation. Ambassador Duke met frequently with
Spanish officials, JUSMG kept the High General staff informed
of the Defense Department's actions Palomares, while
Secretary of State.Rusk and Earl Wheeler, the Chairman
of Joint Chiefs of Staff, sent personal messages to their
Spanish counterparts thanking them for their cooperation and
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assuring them that the operation was receiving
constant attention at the ,highest levels of the u.s.
Government.
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- E-B-1 The Franco regime's efforts to avoid mention of the
B-52's nuclear armament collapsed 'on January 19 when United
Press International reported not only that the' B-52 was
carrying nuclear bombs but that one was missing and hundreds of
geiger counter equipped u.s. troops were combing the
countryside areund Palomares uearchihg for signs of ,
radioactivity. On January 20, the Spanish Government
authorized release of a which admitted the 8-52
carried nuclear armament but insisted that initial radiological
surveys had established that no pUblic health danger existed in
the Palomares area. The statement represented a Spanish
redrafting of an Embassy-proposed pre?s release which
fuller details of the nuclear aspects of the accident. By
January 21 the nuclear contamination issue was full
play in the Spanish press. The failure of the U'.S. and Spanish
Cove rn men t s to pr ov i de a c cur a t e information on the crash
conbi ned 'wi t h the problem of t he un i.s.s i nq nuclear weapon- created
serious public relations problems for the Embassy for months
afterwards. '-
(S)7he conce r n of Spanish of f i c i a l s "lith the public
relations increased as the size of the foreign press
cocps covering the accident grew. In an effort to impose
censorship on the Spanish pubLic, the Franco Government banned
tile sale of foreign newspapers and. news magazines. On January
21" the Spanish Foreign called in Duke to complain about
an alarmist wireservice story whi6h attributed its
sources to the U.s. Embassy. Franco had read the article and
was upset. The spanish Government threatened to take
unspecified "independent action," in retaliation for the
bUke was able to refute that story's attribution to U.S.
sources by contacting the UPI bureau chief in Madrid and thus
to preserve close intergovernmental ccoperation.
5
tsfThe key motivations for the Franco Government's
sensitivity were its concern about the impact which stories
about nuclear contamination would have on southern spain's
lucrative tourist industry and its fears that the underground,
and semi-legal opposition forces, including the outlawed
Party, would effectively exploit the incident in
their campaign to topple the regime. Ironically, the
sensationalism of the Communist-controlled and clandestine
PIndependent Spanish Radio
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would have considerable effect on
the populace of Palomares precisely the information
provided by their own government was both sketchy and believed
unreliable. u.S. officials also suspected that the Government
of Spain intended to use the bomb accident as a bargaining chip
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ho d any consultations
statement.
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t-B-)For u.s. officials, the critical issue was limiting
adverse publicity which trigger a formal Spanish demand
for the cessation of overflights of its territory by
armed aircraft. The threat that such permission would be
withdrawn first surfaced on January 19 when Spanish Vice
President Munoz suggested that in future the
States conduct its refueling operations over international,
waters. Officials at the Spanish Foreign Office also
compLa i ne d to Embassy officials about holding refueling
operations over their territory. Duke warned Washington that
the speedy recovery of the missing fourth nuclear c1evice was
the key to reducing press coverage which could force the
Spanisll Government to suspend overflight permission. Continued
illtellse press coverage force Spanish Government to
take dramatic action reassure restive domestic pUblic
opinion.
7
f-t;-)Duke I s \/arning proved instantly prophetic. On January
22 Hunoz, Grantle.s. met wi t h the Chief of. the U. s. .rusnc., Hajor
General Stanley J. nonovan , to request the sus pens i on of the
overflight of Spanish territory by nuclear-armed U.S.
The spanish Foreign initially told reporters
that any changes in the flight paths of its aircraft were
unilaterally. made by U.S. authorities. However
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in the face of
continued intense press coverage of Pa Lornar e s and rising
Jiscontent among influential segments of the spariish
intelligentsia and bureaucracy, Spanish Information Minister M.
Fraga Iribarue told a January 29 press conference that U.S.
nuclear armed overflights of Spain had been n ermanently"
sus ,endedI
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U.s. officials prior
The Question of a Joint Statement
united states, follOWing its established' policy,
refrained from public comment on issues relating to" I t s nuclear
defense opera t ions. The Embassy, however,' was 'act! vely
attempting to counter misinformation originating from the
recovery site. Because of the isolated location of the
recovery operation, security measures enforced by the
government, and the limited value of news relating to the land
clean-up operation, the majority of the foreign press covering
the Palomares story stayed in Madrid, awaiting
developments in the reCovery operations. All of these
conditions produced misinformation and sensationalism.
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The Embassy was also concerned about the lack of
information being provided by the Department of Defense's on
site press-spokesman.- The paucity of factual information
provided corcespondents visiting the scene tended to exacerbate
already unfavorable reporting. lIT an effort t6 counter these
factors, Ambassador Duke toured the recovery site on February 3
and upon his return to held a news conference at which
lIe explained the progress of the clean-up operation as well as
the technical difficulties facing the Navy in its search for
the missing bomb. Duke's continued concern over accurate presb
coVerage of the clean-up and salvage operations led him to
. strongly endorse a suggestion by the DOD press representative
the craSfr site for a press conference, jointly sponsored by
the Embassy and government, and preferably held at
palOJilareS, which vou.l d dispell rumors about contamination. The
spanish Government did not act upon this suggestion due to
internal disagreements. After state Department-DOD
consultations the idea was vetoed as "undesirable" by the U.S.
Government.
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{-e-)Inaccurate reporting dogged U.S. officials. day
after DUke's February 3 press conference, the New York Times
erconeously quoted him identifying the missing bomb as an
hydrogen In ,view of Spanish to any
discussion of t he bomb's characteristics (particularly its
killing, power and radius); Duke obtained a retraction from the
Times' Spanish correspondent, Tad Szulc.
I O
(-S-)Neamvhile t he Embassy continued to press the Spanish
Government ror the release of a joint statement which would
clarify the details of the palomares accident and clean-up. In
mid-February 1966, the Embassy submitted to the Foreign Office,
the Spanish Atomic Energy Commission (JEN), and Vice President
'Munoz Grandes a state Department draft of a joint U.s.-Spanish
statement. ,While lnitial reaction to the U.S. proposal was
generally favorable, all three forwarded suggestions for
changes in the text. An internal Spanish Government debate on
the text effectively blocked the issuance of any statement.
Vice President Munoz Grandes, in partiCUlar, was opposed to any
public statement on the accident at a time when the soviet
Union pad a major propaganda offensive. He feared
that the SoViet Union would simply exploit additional .
information to keep the issue before world public opinion.
Information Minister Fraga and the JEN favored release of the
text, while the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was divided on the
issue. Finally, Franco vetoed any further disclosures. On
February 25, the Embassy suggested that the United states
corisiderd issuing a statement.
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{-BiOn -Harch I, the press impasse was finally broken by the
action of the Chairman of the JEN, Jose Maria otero. without
clearance from either the Foreign Office or High General staff
of the Spanish Army, he discussed the contamination issue, .
'outlined clean up operations, and confirmed that one of the
nuclear weapons was still missing in a press interview. u.S.
officials speculated that otero's actions were encouraged by
Information Minister Fraga, a leading proponent of openness
with the press.
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The following day, the Department of state
released a previously prepared statement stressing the satety
features of u.S. nuclear weapons and confirming the details of
otero's interview.
(-elOn Harch 8 Ambas s ador Duke, Information Minister Fraga,
and members of their families went swimming in the sea off
Palomares to demonstrate safety of the area for tourists.
The germ of this idea may have originated with Spanish Desk
Officer Frank Ortiz who in Januacy 19G6 suggested that
"rrewswor t hy " visitors patronize' hotels near the crash site.
ri'he Spanish cove r nment had scheduled a neil! hotel for opening in
March at Mojacarclose Palomares and was very concerned that
the adverse publicity would destroy the tourist season in that
area. Duke'conceiveq the idea of attending the opening and
taking a swim. Joined by most of his staff, he took the plunge
into the icy waters in the morning. that
Fraga and Duke took a second svi m, The impact on vor Ld pubLi c
opinion vas immediate and highly favorable. This vivid proof
that the sea was not endangered by 'contamination probably saved
the tourist season in Southern spain.
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(--)As the clean-up operation progressed successfully and
local claims procedures began operating effectively, the major
pUblic relations problem facing Embassy officials was providing
information on the effort. to recover the missing nuclear
weapon. In view,of security considerations and the
difficulties of securing Spanish agreement to the release of
information, the Embassy secured the concur ranee of the Air
Force command in Spain for its recommendation that the united
States inform the Franco Government that it intended to make
appropriate on recovery operations available to the
press without prior consultations.
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Location of the Missing Bomb
f.S-)After an exhausting search, the mt ssing bomb was
finally located .and tentatively identified on March 15, 1966.
However, the reluctance of the commander on the scene, Rear
Admiral William Guest, to release information without definite
confirmation that the was in fact the missing bomb
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forced the Embassy to cancel precipitously an early morning
press conference on March 16. At the same leaks within
the military chain of command outside Spain put increasing
pressure on the Embassy and military recovery operation to
provide some sort of information. Finally, on March 17 after
confirmation that the bomb had been located, the Embassy issued
a statement which had preViously been prepared through
consultations with the Department of state." Equipment problems
and the loss of contact vi th the bomb for 9 days delayed final
recovery.IS
f-G)The long search and sUbsequent recovery problems
combined with the scarcity of information available reinforced
press tendencies toward sensationalism. At the urging of u.s.
representatives in spain, including Ambassador Duke, the
Department of Defense approved a plan to permii representatives
of the press to.view the bomb shortly after it was hauled
aboard a U.s. 0avy recovery vessel. Embassy had apparently
initially wanted the press to be present during the recovery
operation to establish u.s. credibility but accepted military
to this plan. As an
S?anish officials pr.ess pool representqtivs view the
recovered bomb and that the press then receive a formal
briefing on the recovery operation.
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the recovery operation, leaks from the Spanish
representative at Palomares created additional press problems
and" Ambassador Duke sent an Embassy to the
recovery s i te to "insure ." . . press t r eat ment . . . recovery
operations protects and advances U.S. interests," through
strict control of the information released. In a largely
unsuccessful effort to minimize speculation, the United states
had established a daily Navy-Air Force joint briefing at
However, the long delay in recovery of the missing
bomb, the limited information being prOVided by military
officials, isolation of the site, and the attendant growth of
rumors defeated this aspect of the public relations and
spawned sensationalistic accounts, partiCUlarly in the Western
European press. In addition, the long simmering differences
between the Embassy staff and the DOD press "representatives at
Palomares surfaced when Embassy officers made their unhappiness
known to members of the complaining that the military
treated them as "nuisances. nIl
(U)The Navy's inability to retrieve quickly the lost
nuclear weapon after its discovery created additional problems
for the Embassy. On the international level the soviet Union
was exploiting u.s. difficulties to attack the stationing of
nuclear weapons outside U.S. national territory and demanding
international verification of the recovery_ Meanwhile a large
and growing groqp of journalists was waiting in Madrid for
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permission to visit the crash site and view' the results of the
recovery operation. Press coverage of the clean up and
recovery was limited, first by the need to keep everyone not
associated with the operation aWgy from areas of potential
contamination at the land sites and then by security-
considerations and the practical impossibility of accomodating
large of press representatives on the recovery ships.
The Franco Government, of course, preferrred to keep the press
away from the site entirely. Its aims were facilitated by the
of Palomares and the slow progress and
unnewsworthy nature of daily recovery and .clean-up operations.
The vast majority of the press gladly preferred to await major
developments in the comfor-t of ,t1adrtd's hotels.
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,-&)On April 7, 1966, the na vaI task force retrieved the
missing bomb.. The Embassy notified the Spanish Foreign Office
and Informatioil Ministry while JUSMG reported the succesful
r-ecovery to the High General Staff, Ai r f1i nistry and JEN.
Ambassador Duke proceeded to the recovery site together with
representatives of the Spanish Government.
1 9
on April 8, the
.Spanish officials boarded a- U. S. -Navy recovery vessel and.
viewed the weapon. A small number oE press
werebrought alongside the recovery ship for a glimpse of the
bomb' and the U.S. military provided a briefing on the recovery
operatiori for the the entire press corps. At the request of
the of Spain, relayed through. the Embassy, the
recovekY ship with its atomic cargo immediately departed for
the United States -without docking at any Spanish port. A
majority of the press departed soon after .the weapon recovery
was completed.
20
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remained a public relations problem forthe
Embassy for nearly a decade afterwards. The annual
anniversaries of the accident were marked by television and
press retrospectives on the effects of the crash on
the people of Paloraares. The' Embassy was frequently requested
-to provide technical assistance for these inquiries and to
explain the U.S. position. The popUlation of the Village
declined rapidly as the soil became increasingly alkaline and
incapable of supporting the area's primary cash crop;
tomatoes. In addition, many Villagers departed out of fear of
radiation effects. Internal opponents of the Franco regime,
initially spearheaded by the Duchess of Medinia-Sidonia,
attacked the spanish Government, it had failed to
safeguard the interests of its own citizens, particularly their
rights to claim damages from the United states. The Embassy
originated a plan to show U.S appreciation to the people of
Palomares for the assistance they rendered to the downed
aviators and their patience during SUbsequent clean up by
building a water desalination plant to assist in irrigation
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projects.. The idea, which washington approved with some
reservations, ran into a series of bureaucratic impasses in
spain.7
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Settlement of Claims
+a-) Al though the Embassy showed no desir e to inter: fere vii th
the on-site operations of the Air Force and Navy it was slowly
dragged into a more active role in the Palomares area by the
complaints of local residents (magnified through the reporting
of the spanish and international press) that claims settlements
were progressing too slowly, Ambassador Duke urged that the
process be sped up. On February 12, 1966, at a meeting of the
chief of JUSMG and the High General staff, Spanish officers
requested that the claims agreeiilents forms used by the United
states be rewordeJ tb permit filing later or suppleiilentary
claims for 10 to 20 years after the accident. They pointed out
that the effects of the on the citizens and land of
Palomares might not be fUlly revealed for many years after the
accident. The Embassy contacted the Department bf State
uIgell speedy consiueration and ilctioll on the position of the
. . t "5 I 1 ,. ,
Spanlsn Governmel1',' e, proceSSIng was
suspended at Spanish consideration of
aspects of the spanish request, the Depar tment of sta te ' .
forwarded a letter for delivery to the spanish Government which
exp.l.ai nad the procedures outlined in, the Foreign cl a i ms Act and
prOVided assurances that claims could'be filed an extended
period of time following the accident. on the
claims settlements issue took place on February 19 and 21, 1966
between chief of JUSMG and a representative of the Spanish
High. General staff. The negotiators reached agreement that the
assurances contained in the U.S. letter satisfied Spanish
concerns.
26
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(-e7Claims settlements continued for years after the
accident. Francisco Simo Orts, the Spanish who saw
the fourth bomb land at sea and assisted in rescuing downed US
airmen
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filed a series of claims against the United states
which embarrassed both U.S. and Spanish officials and kept the
issue of U.S. fairness in the press. The Embassy also
inherited responsibility for handling claims after the military
clean-up teams left Palomares, serving as a clearing house for
the inquiries and complaints of the spanish Government. The
satisfaction of claims of Spanish remained an irritant
in u.S.-Spanish relations for nearly a decade. In 1976, the .
Embassy braced for major which would mark the
tenth anniversary of the 'Palomares crash. None took place.
Internal political matters connected with the transition from
dictatorship to in Spain had eVidently lessened
public interest in the 1966, crash .27
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Clean-Up operations
(UlAs was the claims issues, the Embassy ,
initially left the clean-up operations to the'representatives
of the Department of Defense at Palomares. However, the
requirements of an effective public relations effort and of
effective communication with the Spanish inevitably
led to an increased Embassy role in these matters.
rn i tially/ Ambassador Duke I s major requirement wa s
accurate information on the on-site operations. Teams of
lluclear-experts.from the of Defense and the Atomic.
Energy COffilnission had arrived at the crash site within days of
the accidents and were directing the clean-up and bomb land
portion of the search for the missing nuclear bomb. The
Embassy lacked a specialist in nuclear matters Duke relied
upon his military attaches to provide the Embassy with
information'on the recovery and decontamination operations.
-UtilizirigthE!it 'contacts wlth' the 16th Air Force-, tbeattaches: ..
were able to provide the Ambassador with a frequent (initially
daily) written report on operations at Palomares which was then
and passed on to the,State Department.
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THULE, GREENLAND, JANUARY 1968
(U)At approximately 3:40 pm, January-21, 1968, a SAC 8-52
bomber carrying nuclear weapons crashed on.the 7-foot-thick ice
of North star Bay approximately 7 miles from the runway at
Thule h2D. The aircraft had been attempting .an emergency
landing after a fire broke out in its heating sjstem. Six
'crewmen bailed out successfully and were SUbsequently rescued.
r.. seventh aiec3 durit').g the bai.lout 'procedure. The four nuclear
devices r e ma i.ned wi t hi n the aircraft and b r oke up upon impact.
Al?ha radiation was released in crash site area. In
additioll, small frag8ents from the aircraft passed through the
ice pack anJ settled at the bottom of North Star Bay.
(U)Tbe 8-52 crush occurred at a particularly sensitive time
for tbe gave r nmen t of Dani ,s11 Pr Lme !'1in i s ter Jens at to Kr ag ,
since aria t i onaI eLect i.on campaign was Ln its: final days.
Danish'Government; upon receipt of information of the crash
(apparently through military channels) I released a statement
(January 22 r 1968) whi ch claimed t ha t Denmark dill not permi t
flights by nuclear armed aircraft over any part of its national
territory, including Greenland, and stressed that the plane had
been attempting an emergency landing after encountering
inflight problems. The text of this statement was not cleared
with the U.S. Government prior to its release. The United
states had operated its nuclear armed aircraft over Greenland
since the conclusion of a 1957 agreement with the Government of
Denmark.
34
(U)Because the wreckagci was located in a xemote and lightly
popUlated area, claims did not playa major role in the Thule
incident. The distance between the crash site and Denmark
reinforced the clear division of responsibility between the
military and U.S. Embassy already eVident after the Palomares
The Department of Defense took charge of the
recovery and operations at the crash site, and assumed
responsibility for the payment of claims arising from the
accident. In addition, Defense Department public relations
teams took charge of the press covering the recovery operation
in Greenland and were the primary source of information for
reporters in Washington. However, Denmark's democratic
politics put an even greater premium on the skillful handling
of public relations by Ambassador Katherine White and the
Embassy staff in Copenhagen.
UNCLASSIFIED
-----------------

18
Initial Public Relations Efforts
(.fi-}Within hours of the first -news of the crash, the Embassy
faced a mounting volume of requests from Danish journalists to
travel to Thule. These .requests were referred through the Air
Attache to the USAF Foreign" Liaison Office. The Embassy
cautioned both the Departments of state and of Defense that
U.S. failure to grant permission to travel to Thule AFB and to
facili tate the work of the pres s in this frigid area would
create serious political problems since it would qe interpreted
as an affront to Danish territorial sovereignty.35 "
(""3"}The lessons of Palomares concerning the need for a good
public relations program were in the forefront of U.s.
Gbvernment concern in Washingt6n. On January 23, the Assistant
secretary.of state for European Affairs, John Leddy, met with
Danish Ambassador Torben Ronne. Leddy opened the discussion by
the need for providing the presswith.as much
iDformation as possible, consonantwith'sccurity requirements j
on both the cra.sn .and the cLe an-eup.i ope-r a t.Lon . Hepointedl:.Y
cited the bad precedents created by press censorship at
Palomares. Leddy secured Amba s s ado r Ronne I s approval for a
Department of Defense preas release describing the findings of
a ground survey team at the crash site. Ronne urged the
quickest possible release of the document. The United States
repeatedly cleared jts press releases with the Danish
Government during the first stages of the Thule operation.
(U)The immediate problem for both governments was insuring
the availability of proper support and for" .
Danish and American reporters desiring to visit Greenland. In
addition to troublesome climatic conditions, the arrival of
reporters threatened to overwhelm the limited facilities of
Thule AFB already straining under the requirements of
supporting recovery qperations in sub-zero temperatures. In
spite of protests by local commanders, the U.S. Government
insisted that facilities be provided for the press.
Fortunately, the forbidding conditions in _Greenland and other
major 'stories (in of the U.S.S. Pueblo
and the Tet offensive) quickly diverted international press
attention. By early February the press corps had left Thule
but the story" remained a major item of interest in Denmark.
37
&ECRE'lJ-- .
----------------_.._-
UNCLASSIFIED
aEeREIT'
19
.I
Reaction in nenmark
(U)The neeQ to provide credible information on
the Thule accident was underlined by the response of the Danish
press. Anti-American feeling, fueled by the war in Vietnam,
reached peak in Europe during the late 1960's. Even
normally pro-American parts' of t ha t press publ i cLy called into
question the honesty of the U.S. Government and reported that
U.S. aircraft had frequently overflown Greenland, fueling
suspici on tha t the Uni ted States had viola ted its agreemen t s
with the Danish cove r mnent . Danish .par t i ci pe t i on in the study
of the nuclear effects of the craSh, however, strengthened tIle
credibility of U.S. public staternents.
30
(U)Dtie to the distances and time problems involved in
coordinating information between Washington, Thule, and
Copenhagen, EmoaBsy p r e s s officers played a Li mt t ed role in t he
U.S. public relations effort which was the pri"mary
r.esponsibili ty .of Air .porce publ ic relations teams at Thule AFB
and Embassy
cooperation with the Air Attache and.Embassj press offics,
arranged transportation for 21 Dcinish and European journalists
to Tbule and accompanied them on the visit. The press office
also managed to coordinate a nearly simultaneous release of
information with Washington by taking down the texts of
Department of press bulletins over the phone, copying
t hern , and then 'providing them to' Danish journalists.
Department of Defense films ort nuclear safety were flown from
.Washington to Copenhagen for screening by the Danish press.
The European Command of the U.S. Army provided the Embassy with
a specialist in nuclear matters'who assisted press office
personnel in preparing and delivering press briefings on such
potentially sensitive subjects as safe levels of radioactivity
and decontamination procedures. The Embassy also reported that
it found a Department of Defense guidance on nuclear matters,
prepared after the Palomares accident, of value in its dealings
with the press.
39
.
(U)On February 5, 1968, the U.s. command at Thule began
sending-a daily report to washington and the Embassy on the
clean-up operations, designed for briefing the press. The
daily information summary was replaced on March 16, 1968 by a
system of infrequent releases marking new stages in the
progress of the operation. In the meantime, Danish
press interest in the Thule crash began to recede. U.S.
cooperation with the Government of Denmprk on health and
environmental safety overcame the effects of initially hostile'
press reporting and r-eestablished credibility with the Danish
.'
UNCLASSIFIED
-
UNCLASSIFIED
SEGnE'!'
20
public. As early as scientists returning
from Thule reported that no evidence existed of immediate
danger to the population of Greenland from the crash.
40
To
further strengthen the sense of U.S. concern, Ambassador White
made a personal to the Thule area on February 24-28.
White initially a personal visit to the site on
February 2. The was accompanied by her Deputy Chief
of Mission and by a delegation of Danish Government officials
and press. White and Danish officials the speed
and efficiency of the operations at a press
conference.
4l
The program of combining the quick release of
accurate information, facilitating the travel and
of Danish and foreign journalists, and
cooperation with the Government of Denmark p-aid major dividends
for tl1e United states by improving ,the tone of Danish press
coverage and increasing public confidence in the ability and
determination of the United States to handle the clean-up
operations safely.
Clean-Up
(-&1The inhabi tants of the Thu.le area, an estimated 650
were never in any danger of direct contamination
from the crash. The area around the site was immediately
. sealed off By.Thule APE personnel to prevent any chance of
contamination of the populcition. Local concern about the
effects bf radiation centered on indirect contamination through
the entry of pI utoni urn into the food cha i n . Of par ticul a r .
. concern the possibility that radioactive wreckage might
have passed through the. ice flow and contaminated the sea
floor. Statements issued by scientists from the Danish Atomic
Energy Commission who in the clean-up operations
and by thesubseguent follow-up examination of the ocean floor
conducted during the summer of 1968 by the Department of
Defense greatly allayed these fears.
42
_ .
(U)During the winter, of Defense directed
clean-up operations centered on recovery of aircraft wreckage,
including pieces of the four nuclear weapons, and the -
collection of contaminated ice and snow. The major problems
facing the military were delays caused by bad weather and the
assembling of adequate equipment. Core samples were taken from
the ice to the depth to which radioactivity had
penetrated. The clean-up proceeded from the edges of the crash
site to the center so the burried-out impact area was the
last to be cleaned up. Recovered debris together with
contaminated water were then packed and shipped to the United
states for final
,ECRB9:'-
UNCLASSIFIED
------------- 1_
smi.<1LASSIFIED
21
E--&-)The clean-up' opera t Lons produced only minimal economic
disruption for inhabitants of ThUle. Most of the
restricted area was reopened for-use in April and the SAC'
clean-up operation was finished by mid-April: Tests run by
Danish scientists on the plant and marine life in the area
during the spring indicated that crash had had no effeci on
the local . J:Irrc:,Ji'uilS':ttj:)'.r",Q; )f(at'(ln'e;OiY\I;eJL,c
!'lost of the d i s cu s s i ons r eLat I nq to nu
clean-up and moni toring of the crash site wer.e ca r r i ed out by
scientific. teams representing the t vo governments. The U.s ..
team Has" organized and led by the Department of Defense. 'l:he
Embassy played no significant in clean-up operations.
Nuclear Overflight und storage
(U) In faa tter s relati ng to nucl ear pol icy the Embassy ill
Denmark played a much more restricted role than did the Embassy
iTt: spa"itl afeert:he :-P"a-lomares accident", . The. Danish Governraen t.-
chose to utilize its Embassy in Washington to convey its views
and carryon most of the SUbstantive on nuclear
pOlicy questions with the United states.
E-&)The major objective of the Government of Denmark in its
Jiscussions with the United states was to secure joint
statement that no atomic weapons were stored in Greenland and
that the frequently-observed B-52 flights into Thule and over
Greenland were by aircraft that did not carry nuclear
armament. (The Danish press was of stories quoting
Greenlanuers who. claimed that B-52 aircraft regUlarly flew over
the island and landed at Thule AFB.) The United states, as a
matter of policy, wished to avoid statements regarding the
storage or transporation of its nuclear armaments. On January
26, 1968, U.s. Assistant secretary of state Leddy submitted to
the Danes a draft statement which avoided any mention of the
n ucl e ar issue.

underlined u.s.
to consult with on nuclear
policy.44
+sTOn February 7, shortly after the formation of a new
Danish Government, Ambassador White met with Foreign Minister
Poul Hartling at the Dane's request. Hartling presented White
UNCLASSIFIED

!ELli3_':::J
.B1. 133
.."
-
UNCLASSIFIED
SEG:RfJ'T
22
. ,
(U)'rhe following day the Danish pa r I "Lament passed a motion
instructing its government to seek "absolute guarantees" froD
the United states that Denmark would remain a nuclear-free zone.
. - .,. - .-
(-f.5"'")During the negotiations wh i ch f oLlowed , the Embas.sy
played a secondarY role: providing information on pUblic
opinion, the attitudes of Danish civilian and military
officials, and the negotiating positions of the Danish
Government and suggesting U.S. negotiation strategy based on
this information. Talks between the 'United states and nenraar k
took place in h'ashington.
46

"e

separate oral statement a anne ,
conditions of extreme and sudden peril to the Atlantic
which did not permit sufficient time for consultations with the
Danish Government might lead the United states bnilaterally to
resume overflights of. Greenland. The Danish Government dropped
its request for a U.s. statement endorsing its position on
nuclear weapons (May 16) and subsequently issued a unilateral,
declaration which reaffirmed its earlier statements. In
keeping with its standing policy, the United .States made no
cornment.
47
SE6RET
UNCLASSIFIED
---------------------
UNQcASIFIED
23
Coordination Between the Embassy -and the Recovery Operation
(U)Distance and the isolation of site warrented
the Embassy policy of non-interference in recovery operations.
In addition, the Embassy had no contingency plans for coping
with a nuclear accident and the Embassy officers had no
training in this field. Moreover,. the Mission in Denmark
1 acked special ists in nuclear affa irs and in the days - f ol Lowi ng
the crasll urgently the loan of a qualified specialist in
nuclear affairs from the Embassy in Stockholm. As
noted, the Department of Defense came to the rescue when it
authorized the loan of an officer from the European command
the necessary technical expertise and the ability to deal
with the press."
the Embassy played an important though
limited role in facilitating contact between U.S. and Danish
scientists. Ambassador White insiSted on acting as the
go-bet1:1een for Defense nepa r t raen t s ci e nt I s t.s and th,d r Dani s h
counterpar t s.. 0 "'I'he.Embassy eli d the CJroundwo.rk for a jo i nt .
meeting at Copenhagell between a team of scientfsts led uy
Dr. Carl walske, Assistant Secretary of for Nuclear
EnergYr and representatives of the Danish Atomic Bnergj
Agency. All messages. between the U.S. scientific team and the
Danish Government were sent through the Embassy ill order to
maintain ... excellent coordination among all American
agencies which has characterized ... B-52 crash.
n48
The
Embassy also provided communications facilities between the
Department of Defense Science Team and Washington. Initially,
communications between the DOD Danish representatives
travelled through a number of channels. However, once the
Embassy became aware of this, it insisted that all future
contacts must go through it, permitting the state Department to
stay up to date with the scientifi"c and technical-aspects of
the negotiations over the clean-up operation.
49
Embassy also played an important role in the
coordination of the texts of joint U.S.-Danish statements on
scientific and technical aspects of the clean-up and recovery
operations.. Finally, during summertime U.S. and Danish
ecological surveys of North Bay and enVirons, Embassy
officials worked with the representatives of the Danish
Government on the pUblic information program.
50
(U}Overall between the Embassy and Department
of Defense representatives was extremely close and appears to
have been unmarred by any serious policy or personality
disputes.
SE-CRE9?
UNCLASSIFIED
. I
!
UNCLASSIFIED
3CRET
24
Claims
(U)The Danish Government declined to press any claims
against the United s t t ~ arising from the accident. The
Department .of Defense handled the payment of local claims
arising from the accident. These claims were minimal and the
Embassy does not appear to have taken any role in the
settlement procedures.
51
.
. .
SECItE'fI-
UNCLASSIFIED
25
CONCLUSIONS
(U)While the documentation available for this study was not
sufficient to trace the .daily activities of either the
Ambassador or the Embassy staffs during the crises which
f oLl owed the crash of B-52' sat Palomares and Thule, it does
permit certain conclusions concerning the role of the
Ambassador, the tasks performed by the Embassy, and the
relationship of t he Embassy to the U. S. mili t a r y dur ing the
recovery and clean-up operations.. . .
(U)Both Ambassadors confined themselves to traditional
functions, seeking to establish cooperation with the
host government and to provide information which would put U.s.
actions in the most favorable light the publics of
Spain, Denmark, and Greenland. Still, a good deal of
flexiGility existed for the of the
role during these Ln c i de nt s .aud the deqr ee to which the
Ambassador took a hand in the resolution of events was
determirted by circumstances of accident and the
personality of the incumbent. On the Whole, Ambassador Duke
took a more active role than Ambassador White both in
diplomatic exchanges with the host government and in the public
diplomacy of his mission.
(U}Geography was a factor in the role which Ambqssadors had
in these crises. Although Palomares was situated in a remote
part of Spain, it was on the European mainland and close enough
to the centers of Spain's booming tourism trade to endanger
part of Spain's economy as well as heighten concern about the
possibility of an accidental nuclear explosion throughout the
western Mediterranean area and northern Europe. The B-52 crash
near Thule occured in a Virtually area, offshore,
and close to a U.S. military facility. These factors in the
ThUle incident led to greater Department of Defense control and
less Embassy involvement.
(U)The differing experiences and managerial styles of the
two Ambassadors also interacted with the partiCUlar
circumstances of the two incidents. Both Ambassadors were
political but DUke had previously served as Chief
of Protocol at the Department of State and, possessing a more
complete knowledgeof the foreign policy-making apparatus in .
Washington, was potentially in a better position to gain
acceptance of his views. More importantly, Duke's particular
situation required a more aggressive representation of U.S.
interests. The United States was seeking to preserve its
nuclear rights and to widen the scope of the information made
UNCLASSIFIED
e- j'
[j.
UNCLASSIFIED
&ECRE'P
26
issues related to the clean up and to claims arising from the
accident. This made the Embassy in Spain and the Ambassador a
key figure in the complex negotiations which finally resolved
the palompres incident. '
(..-.)On the other hand, within hours of the crash at Thule,
the Danish G6vernment began aggressively seeking concessions
from the United States ,through their Ambassador in Washington.
Thus the Embassy in Denmark was largely bypassed on matters of
policy and handled more routine matters. Moreover, the
documentation indicates that AmbassaJor White handed
responsibility for these matters to her deputy chief of mission
who, while very active, probably lacked the weight with both
the highest levels of the Danish Government and senior u.s.
officials which an Ambassadqr often
(U)The Embassy role in both episodes was almost exclUsively
non-technical in character. Inadequately staffed to handle the
scientific and technical problems arising from the accidentsl
both Embassies relied upon the Department of Defense, the
Atomic Energy Commission, anJ the Dep?rtment of state for.
technical advice. This essential technical support vas quickly
available in Spain but was not immediately available- in the
Danish case. Coordination on technical matters, sllch as
clean-up, decontamination, and weapons recovery, was performed
primarily by the Defense attaches who utilized their
familiarity with the agencies and commands of the
Department and with the military es t abLi ahmen t of the host
nation to provide the Embassy with accurate information a0d
advice. In addition, in Spain, the Chief of JUSMG was able to
utilize a' close relationship with Munoz Grandes to improve
inter-governmental cooperation on the recovery and clean-up'
operations and to assist the Embassy's ultimately unsuccessful
efforts to regain Spanish permission for overflights by nuclear
ar med aircraft
(U)Throughout both incidents the overriding concerns qf the
Embassy were the impact of the accident on the U.S. 'public
image and retention of special rights and privileges
relating to the movement and storage of nuclear weapons. The
Embassy in Spain faced almost unsurmountable public relations
problems due to the authoritarian nature of the spanish regime
which sought to impose a heavy-handed censorship on the press
and thus increased pUblic concerns and suspicions. profiting
from the lessons of the Palomares incident and from the
requirements of Danish democracy, the Embassy in Denmark was
able to a more successful pUblic relations effort after
the Thule accident.
UNCLASSIFIED

I'
UNCLASSIFIED
SECRET
27
HnNeither Embassy was able to influence significantly the
host government on the matter of u.s. nuclear weapons rights.In
case of Denmark, the decision was made to revoke those
rights within hours of the Thule crash. In the case of Spain,
the Embassy's efforts were undercut by the inability of U.S.
recovery teams to find the missing nuclear device and a
resultant public outcry which drove the Franco regime toward a
cancellation of perlnission for u.s overflights.
(U)Cooperation betweell the agencies of the Defense
Department and the Embassies was good: In Spain, the Embassy
felt compelled to prod the military over the speed of its
claims repayment operation, but also provided the Department of
Defense with badly-needed assistance in negotiations over both
claims settlements procedures and standards for contamination
clean-up.52
(U)Finally, both missions inherited reoponsibility for
final settlement legal problems arising fromrthe crash. In
the case of tile BmiJassj -inOe-nmark, these responsibilities were
very limited due to the site of the crash and the -
disinclination of the Danish to press any claims.
The Palomares crash, however; produced a long lasting series of
headaches for the Embassy in Spain, arising primarily from
legal claims but also involving the actions of opponents of the
Franco regime. The Embassy in Spain continues to take action
on problems r eLa ted to the 1966 crash at Paloma-res.
PA/ H0 : J Et1i 11e r
4/12/85
OOllr
632-9702
SCRB-'
UNCLASSIFIED

28
NOTE ON SOURCES
(U)This based on the files of the Department
state. In it, primary reliance"was placed on the
Madrid and Copenhagen Post files and upon the files of the
Danish Desk. The Central files of the Department of State were
also consulted but they yielded little useful information.
Other sources included press accounts, books published in the
aftermath of the Palomares accident and information supplied by
officers of the Department of State.
-sECRET
UNCLASSIFIED

29
NOTES
1. Madrid tel. 839, Jan. 17, 1966, Confid-Nofor. Def 18 Madrid
Post Files (Hereinafter cited MPF). On the releasa of
information to the press, cf. -Madrid tel. 846, Jan. 17,- 1966,
Confid., Def 17, MPF. Detailed accounts of the initial actions
oithe.embassy staff are in Tad Szulc, The Bombs of Palomares
(NY, 1967), pp. 54-62 and Flora Lewis, One of Our H-Bombs Is
Missing (NY, 1967),pp. 63-68. Both are based on interviews
conducted shortly after the acident.
2. Tel. 839 from Madrid, Jan. 17, 1966, Confid. op. cit.
3. Deptel. 851 to Madrid, Jan. 22, 1966, Secret, Def 18.1,
MPF. Unnumbered Department of Defense tel. to tbe Embassy in
MaJrid, Jan. 22, 1966, ibid. Cf. Madrid tel. 838, Jan. 21,
19GG, Def. 17, ibid.
4. Madrid tels. 855 and 857, Jan. 19, lR66, both Secret.
Madrid 859, Jan. 20, 1966, Secret, all Def 17, MPF. DOD
officials at palomares initially attempted to place a veil of
secrecy around all aspects of the accident to avoid exposur e of
the.nuclear weapons on board the B-52. Szulc, whose
presentation of the activities of the Embassy is consistently
favorable, is highly critical of U.S. military efforts at press
control and later DOD pUblic affairs pr9grams. He enjoyed a
good relationship with Embassy personnel and his criticisms of
the military public relations effort, in addition t6 reflecting
a reporter's pique with the efforts at a news blackout,'
magnified Embassy frustrations with the DoD handling
of its on-site press briefings .. Bombs of palomares, pp.
114-15, 123i 168-69, 214-15. Lewis, while critical of the DOD
public relations effort more accurately places most of the
blame lack of information on the Spanish Government and
notes U.S. Embassy irritation with Spain's efforts at
censorship. One of Our H-Bombs, pp. 101-02, 176.
5. Madrid tel. 871, Jan. 22, 1966, Secret, Def 17, MPF.
6. Ibid.
7. Madrid tel. 869, Jan. 21, 1966, Confid. Cf. Madrid tel.
873, Jan. 23, 1966, Confid. Tel. JUSMG to CINCEUR, Jan. 22,
1966, Secret, all Def 17, MPF. See, Szulc, The Bombs of
Palomares, p. 117 on trend of press repotting.
,sECRB'f
UNCLASSIFIED

. 30
8. Madrid tel. 896, Jan. 26, 1966, Secret. Madrid tel. 914,
Jan. 29, 1966, Confid., all Def 17, MPF. The extra-legal
opposition capitalized on the crash to mount a small and
peaceful demonstration outside the 0.5. Embassy on Feb. 2,
1966. Francofs police eventually broke this march up.
9. Madrid tel. 951, Feb. 5, 1966, Secret, Def 17, MPF . Notes
of a conversation with DUke, Feb. 2, 196G, Secret
r
Def 18.1 MPF. Madrid tel. 966, Feb. 9, 1966, Confid, Def
l7,MPF. The proposal for a Palomares press confeience was
down in Deptel. 941, FeG. 12, 1966, secret, Def 18.1,
MPF. No rationale for this decision was outlined in fhe
When Duke's proposal failed to win the agreeQent of
the spanish Government, the Embassy.suggested a joint TV'
appearance by U.S. and SpaQish scientists. Madrid tel. 974,
Feb." II, 1966, Confid., Def MPF. Cf. Szulc, Bombs of
Palomares, "pp. 168-69.
10. Madrid tel. 942, Feb. 4, 1966, Confid., Dei 17, MPH. A
s omevha t garbleJ version o f this "incident is in Szulc, Bombs of
Palomares, p: 175.
11. Madrid tel. 1020, Feb. 18, 19G6, seccet. Madrid tel. lOG6,
Feb. 25, 1966, Confid., both Def 17, MPF ..
12. Madrid tel. 1099, Mar. 2, 19GG, Secret, Det 17, MPF.
13. Ortiz to Duke, Jan. 20, 196G, Confid., Def. 18.1, MPF.
Szulc, Bombs of Palomares, pp. 219-227 for further Jetails.
14. Madrid tel. 1239, Mar. 22, 1966", Confid., Def 17, MPF.
15. On the problems of the recovery operation and efect on
press relations, see Sculz, Bombs of palomares, pp. 234-45;
Lewis, One of Our H-Bombs, p. 213.
16. Madrid tel. 1276, Mar. 26, 1966, secret, Def "17, MPF.
17. Unnumbered telegram to the Secretary of
Defense, Mar 24, Confid. Madrid tel. 1269, Mar. 25,
1966, secret, both Def 17, MPF. Sculz, Bombs of Palomares, pp ..
215-16, reprints part of one of the press conferences which
vividly present the press relations problems created by efforts '
to avoid admitting that a nuclear missing:
Reporter: "Tell me, any sign of bomb?"
USAF Spokesman: "What bomb?"
Reporter: "Well, you know,_the thing you're looking for ... "
USAF Spokesman: nyou know.perfectly well we're not "looking for
any bomb. Just for "debris."
$.ECRET
UNCLASSIFIED
I
1
UNCLASSIFIED

31
Reporter: "All right, any signs of the thing which say is
not the bomb?"
USAF spokesman: "If you put it that way, I can tell. you that
there is no sign of the thing that is not the bomb."
Sculz adds: "And so it went for days, for weeks." The New York
Times (March 4, 1966.) greeted the March admission that a bomb
was in fact missing with the caustic comment that it took,the
United states only 40 days to acknowledge the truth. On
Embassy officials complaints to the press about being treated
as nuisances, szulc, Bombs of Palomares, p. 171. On growing
Embassy d i s s t a i s f ac t i on with the pubLi c relations operation and
stains between Embassy officials and DOD representatives; cf.,
Notes, "Action," Jan. 24, 1966, Unclass., Def 18.1, MPF.
"Ambassador's Comments on Return from Feb. 3, 1966,
ibid.
18. Cf, Szulc
i
BOIilbs .0 PaLomar e s , pp. 22G-27.
19. HaJriJ tel. 1359, April 7, 1966, ConEid., Def 17, MPF.
20. Munoz request was reported in Madrid tel.
March 25, 1966, Confid., Def 17, MPF.
21. Cf. Deptel. 118041, 14/ 1967, LOU, Def 17-Palomares/'
MPF. On the problem with the duchess, Madrid tel. 1800,
13, 19G7, LOU, Def 17, HPF. On the prQblems with the
desalination plant, cf. Madrid 1557/ Jan. 12/ 1966/ tonfid.,
Def 17, MPP. See also the marta in Time, Jan. 24, 1969,
pp. 41-42., VIashington post, Feb. 9/ Atlas, Dec.
1971, pp. 7U-79.
22. Mpdrid tel. 1316, April 1, 1966, Secret, Def 12, MPF.
23. Madrid tel. 1444, April 22, 1966, Secret, Def 17, MPF.
24. Madrid tel. 1531, May 6, 1966, Secret, Def 17-1, MPF.
Madrid tel. 1836, June 23, 1966, secret, Def 12, MPF.
tel. 1555, December 16, 1966, Secret, Def 17-1, MPF.
25. Madrid tel. 997, Feb. 12, 1966, secret, Def 17, MPF.
26. Madrid tel. 1025, .Feb. 19, 1966, Secret. Madrid tel. 1031,
Feb. 21, 1966, Secret. Madrid tel. 1038, Feb. 21, 1966, LOU,
all Def 17, MPF. On the claims settlement procedures, see
Defense Nuclear Agency, "Palomares Summary Jan. 15,
1975 (U), pp. 149-81. A copy of the agreement on claims
procedures is attached as appendix A to this paper.
27. Memorandum of a conversation between Duke and Aguirre de
Career, Director General of North American Spanish
SECRET'
UNCLASSIFIED
UNCLASSIFIED
SCRET
32
Foreign Office, Madrid, 5, 1967, Confia, Def'17, MPF.
Notes of discussion w,i th Harvey Ferguson, INR/WEA, nov.: I,
1984. Ferguson was Economics Officer in Madrid in 1976.
28. Madrid tel. 88S, Jan. 25, 1966, Confid-Limdis. Madrid tel.
887, Jan. 25, 1966, Confid. Memorandum,from Wilson to Duke,
Jan 26, 1966, Secret, all Def 17, MPF.
29. Defense Uucleur Agency, "Palomares Summary Report," pp.
44-73 for details. A copy of the Wilson-Hontel agreement is
included as appendix B to paper. For objections to the
notion of a nuclear waste site in spain, see from Chief of
JUSMG to the Chief of staff of the Air Force, Feb. 3, 1966"
Secret, Dei 18.r, MPF.
30. State tel. 941 to Feb. 12, 1966, Secret. . State
tel. 942 to Madrid, Feb. 12, 1966, secret, both Def 18.1, MPF.
A copy of the interagency paper is included as appendiX C to
this paper.
31. Itladrid tel. 995, Feb. 15, 1966, Secret.
Feb. 18
1
196G, secret, both Def 17
/'
HPF. A
telegram outlining this verbal agreement is
appendix D to this paper.
32. State tel. 993 to Madrid
l
Feb. 19, 1966
1
r1PF.
33. Madrid tel. 1031, Feb. 21, 1966, Secret.
Feb. 25, 1966, Confid." Def , '17, L"1PF.
Madrid tel. 1019,
copy' of the
attached as
secret, De 17,
Madrid tel. 1054,
34. The text of this statement and the text of a t.e Le qr au
reporting Danish agreement are attached as appendix E to this
paper.
35. Copenhagen tel. 2837, Jan. 22, 1968, Secret, Def 17,
'copenhagen Post Files. Hereinafter cited CPF.'
36. Memorandum of a conversation between Leddy and Ronne,
washington, Jan. 23, 1968, Secret.
37. Copenhagen tel. 2863, Jan. 23, 1968, Unclass., Def 17, CPF.'
38. ,Copenhagen tel. 2949, Jan. 28, 1968, Unc1ass., Def 17 8-52,
CPF.
39. Copenhagen tel. 1340, Feb. 2, 1968, ,LOU. PAO Monthly
. report for January 1968, Feb. 21, 1968, Unclass., both Def 17
B-52, CPF. The "information guidance" referred to was no. 5329
sent to Madrid on March 3, 1966. No copy of this guidance was
found in the Madrid Post files.
SECRE'1'
UNCLASSIFIED

33 .
40. Copenhagen tel. 1552, Mar. 3, 1968, Unclass., Def 17 B-52,
CPF.
41. Copenhagen tel. 1341, Feb. 2, 1968, LOU. Tel. from 4683 AB
Group Thule to the Department of Defense, Feb. 29, 1968,
Unclass., Def 17, B-52, CPF.
42. Tel. from the SAC Disaster Control Team, Thule, to the
Embassy in Denmark, Jan. 28, 1968, Conf i.d, Tel. from Thule APB
to the Department of Jan. 28, 19G8, Unc1ass. Tel .
from the Department of Defense to the Embassy in Denmark, Jan.
30, 1968, Copenhagen tel. 1358, Feb. 8, 1968, Def 17
Greenland Crash, CPF.
43. Memorandum from Leddy (EUR) to Rusk (S), Feb. 23, 19G8,
Confid., Lot 73D170, "Thule Crash-Internal Memos." Memorandum
on the Thule April 10, 1968, Unclass., Lot 73D170,
.Thule Crash--rnformation, General." Memorandum from George
(EUR) to Rusk (5), July 22, 19G8, Secret, "Lot
73D170, "Tbule_Crash-C1ean-Up operati6n." state tel. 231303 to
Copenhagen, j1, LOU,Dcf 17 B-5Z;
44. Memorandum of a conversation between Leddy alld Ronne, Jan.
26, 1968, secret; DeE 17 n-52, CPF.
45. Copenhagen tel. 1352, Feb. 7, 1968, Confid. Copenhagen
tel. 1360, Feb. 8, 1968, both Def 17 a-52, CPF.
46. Copenhagen tel. 1389, Feb. 14, 1968, Confid., Def 17 3-52,
CPF. Copenhagen tel. 1395, Feb. 15, 1960, secret, Def 15,
CPF. Copenhagen tel. i401, Feb 16, 1968,.Secret. Letter from
Byron Blankinship (DCM, Copenhagen) to David McKillop
(Director, EUR/SCAN), Copenhagen, Feb; 23, 1968, Co nf i d ; , both
Def 17 B-52, CPF.
47. President's Evening Reading, May 9 and 31, 1968. Letter
from Leddy Warnke, Assistant secretary of Defense,
April 17, 1968, Secret, both Lot 73D170, "ThuleCrash-Internal
. Memos." The memoranda outlining this agreement are attached as
appendix F to this paper. .
48. Copenhagen tel. 3210, Feb. la, 1968, Unc1ass. Letter from
White to GOUlding, Assistant secretary of Defense, Feb. 12,
1968, Unc1ass., Def 17, CPF.
49. Copenhagen tel. 3346, Feb. 16, 1968, Confid., Def 17 B-52,
CPF. -
50. Copenhagen tel. 1431, Feb. 27, 1968, LOU. Copenhagen
5684, JUly 18, 1968, Secret, both Def 17 3-52, CPF.
SECRET
UNCLASSIFIED

34
51..Copenhagen tel. 4315, April 22, 1968, Unclass., Def 17
B-52, CPF. Letter from White to Goulding, op cit.
52. In spite of disagreements over pUblic relations matters and
other irritants, the level of cooperation between Embassy and
on-site DOD teams was so satisfactory that Ambassador Duke
wrote a three page letter to Secretary of the Air Force Harold
Brown, praising the performance of General Wilson, the -
commander of the clean-up operation. -Duke to Brown, May 10,
1966, Def.

UNCLASSIFIED
a